Barbacco

Impeccable service. Menu is 4 star. We all had a different pasta. I had the 5-​hour pork sauce. It was amazing.

Good ambiance and good service.
The brussel sprouts are obviously a no brainer here, per the other reviews (and they are fried, so how can you go wrong?). We also ordered the little ears for the table, very tasty. Our waitress was Morgan, very pleasant, and very attentive to our needs during the lunchtime rush.
I ordered the meatballs as my main course, they were OK, but nothing special. Perhaps what killed it was the LONG STRAND OF HAIR that I found in the meatball upon my first cut into the dish. What an appetite killer. Given that it was a work lunch, I didn’t have the heart to kill the whole mood and make a scene, but I find this totally unacceptable. The hair was wedged into the meat, so this definitely happened during the meatball making process. There are 101 things wrong with this, no matter how good your fried brussel sprouts are…
Totally gross, really really foul.

Got the ORECCHIETTE“little ears” /​cavolo nero fennel sausage /​pecorino cheese. Really really good. Service is fine. $ 15 for pasta with $ 3 tip is reasonable.

I had a great time here! I ran across a few reviews of this place and had to check it out. It is a very cozy interior but a little odd shaped tables.
We had a relatively new server it seemed like and he seemed to be a bit lost but who I’m guessing is the woman manager was more than helpful with us and had a smile on the whole night.
We went with the brussel sprouts, lamb shank, meatballs and order of the truffle cheese. Best Damn Cheese I ever had in my life. The meatballs were quite good and while I am a huge sprouts lover (it’s my favorite food), this was a small portion and too lemony for Tony and I.
I genuinely liked this restaurant and plan on coming back to try their other dishes.

— Relaxed, cozy ambience, spacious and close to Market St/​Bart — easy accessibility
— Great for post work meet up with friends, but not a food heaven
— Excellent appetizers. Personal favorites: roasted octopus, fried Brussel sprouts, crostini with chicken liver pâté and bruschetta with prosciutto and burrata
— Entrees were average, really large portions
— The butterscotch gelato was delicious
— The Pinot by the glass was really nice for the price

Food was amazing, we had the steak, eggplant rigatoni, arugula salad and the waiter was nice enough to let us order just one meatball ($ 5) because we were too curious to try it. The meatball was very moist and soaked up great flavors, paired well with the chard and pine nuts. Steak was cooked perfectly well and the rigatoni was simple but great balance with the rest of our meal. The baked beans with sage on the side was nice and hot with a crispy top, one of my favorites of the night.
We also ordered one scoop of butterscotch chocolate crisp gelato, super delicious.
Easily one of my favorite places for Italian food.

I came here on a date, and we were seated at the bar. A table would have been much preferable, since it wasn’t all that easy to connect, but it wasn’t our first meet (or our only destination for the evening), so I guess it was okay.
To start, we ordered the fried brussel sprouts, the fried polenta, and the grilled octopus. My favorite was probably the last. I could have had an entire plate of it by myself. The sprouts were a close second. They were flavored well and addictive. They weren’t, however, pleasant while digesting and in the to-​go container, haha, as the resulting odor wasn’t the most attractive aroma. I liked the texture of the polenta, but I wished there was another flavor involved to complicate the palette.
For my main, I tried peposo, and it was surprisingly spicy. Luckily I’m a fan of spicy food. The beef was tender and fell apart at the touch of my fork. The accompanying polenta was delicious, but a tad bit overkill after our appetizer (but that was my fault in ordering).
I asked for a glass of red wine, and the server matched one with my dish. I can’t remember the name of it, but it was perfect.

Came here for a weekday lunch — good for casual business or catching up for a pair. You’ll feel a bit like a sardine, but if you forget to make reservations there always seems to be an open seat or two along the bar. They have a TV too, so makes for a nice solo meal as well.
All the food was solid and nothing I wouldn’t eat again. But the one must-​have-​next-​time would be the POLPETTE meat balls — nice, moist with a bit of sweetness which really went well with everything else.
Here’s what else went into the tummy:
bruschette PROSCIUTTO /​TUSCAN CHICKEN LIVER PATE /​ROASTED HEN OF THE WOODS MUSHROOMS: the bread was nice and toasted, but felt more like a hindrance to the topping flavors. high quality meat, could’ve used a smidge more pâté/​onion, but they were all hearty little bites
ORECCHIETTE: nice little kick to this, enjoyed the fennel sausage, would’ve preferred more al dente and less salty
FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS: loved the vinegar tang, a tad salty but fried sprouts usually are

Nice italian restaurant, the food is very good and the ambient is quite. The price of the food is decent ($ 15-​$ 20 aprox per dish). The wines are expensive but good. I had the draft beer: good!
The lasagna is great!

TLDR: Get the meatballs /​seasonal chicken. Feeling healthy? Brussel Sprouts.
My company orders from Barbacco waaaaay too many times so I can say for certain which are my favorites. Sicilian Meatballs!!! They are gigantic (small fist size) and they taste really good. The sauces are definitely infused in this juicy meatball. Soooo good, can’t get enough. My other favorite is the Seasonal Chicken. It’s always cooked perfectly because the meat just slides right off the bone. I also heard great things about the brussel sprouts but I’m not a brussel sprouts kind of person so none for me.

This is the sister (and side by side) restaurant to Perbacco which my husband frequents. He likes Perbacco but wanted to try something new so we thought we should try this for lunch. It was a good choice as after walking all over the city for hours we were hungry. We selected two rustic sounding and filling Italian dishes. My husband got the orecchiette and I got the farro risotto (farrotto). His dish was beautiful to look at, green with herbs, pecorino and mixed with a flavorful fennel sausage. It was as pretty as it was delicious. My dish was the perfect aldente farro with rich cheese and lots of delicious roasted mushrooms and spinach. It was creamy, chewy, slightly salty (In a good way), rich and flavorful. The menu is amazing, it took me a while to decide, and it has a more casual, rustic feel than Perbacco. It was also really crowded even at 2 for lunch. I would recommend it.

Charming Italian restaurant with an intimate ambience. I came here for dinner with a few friends and we all loved it!
Pros:
–We started off with Odisea Dream Albariño, a light white wine with hints of apple. Not cloyingly sweet, but also not too peppery. A balanced addition that paired well with our pasta and proteins!
–The highlight of this meal was the bruschetta with prosciutto, burrata, and arugula. It was my first time having burrata cheese, and needless to say, I loved it! Tasted like a hybrid of mozzarella and Brie, with just the right amount of buttery richness. The prosciutto and arugula were fresh and delicious, as well
–I had the corn fusilli for my main entrée. While it looked like your standard plate of Mac and cheese, the roasted butternut squash and cubed prosciutto provided just the right balance of sweet and salty. The pepper cream sauce, topped off with some parsley, also added some texture and spice
–I sampled my friend’s oriecchiette and farrotto — both were delicious! Would definitely recommend all of the pasta plates
–The service was pretty quick. ~15 minutes for all four of our plates, plus our appetizer
–Very affordable, given quality and quantity of food. At first glance, a plate of pasta seems like nothing until you’re halfway in… a standard dish can definitely last 1.5 to 2 meals
–Seasonal menu. It’s clear that Barbacco sources fresh, local ingredients!
Cons:
–None

We came here after the 3 adjacent restaurants were not able to accommodate our party of 2 on a Tuesday evening (strange, I know).
Although they made us wait for 10 – 15 minutes, and allowed a few people to be seated ahead of us despite them arriving much later, we weren’t miserable. We sat at a booth, and I must say the tables are a bit small. For the entire night, our waiter struggled with arranging the plates to get the variable dishes in order and silver-​wear and salt shakers were dropped (is that bad luck?).
Since this was a light dinner, we ordered the vegetable dishes (you get to pick up to 5 for $ 20). What a steal! We got the Carrots (delish), beets (hella delish), roasted Cauliflowers (yum), Olives (a little too salty for my taste), and sun-​dried tomatoes (rate PG, aka pretty good).
I got an additional side salad to go with that while my friend got the soup of the day which she really enjoyed. Overall the staff was very nice, attentive and it was a nice ambience. I didn’t get to dive deeper in the menu as I was trying to stay on the healthy side, and the bill was very reasonable.
Not a destination place, but if you’re in the FiDi, give it a try.

Loved Barbacco! Since we all ordered the same meal I can’t attest to very much on the menu, but everything we had was perfect.
We shared the bruschetta appetizer and all of us ordered the Peposo (the beef stew w/​polenta). Everything was delicious! I will definitely be back.

3.5 stars. Love the ambiance. The restaurant is dim lit, with a modern/​urban Italian bistro vibe. The food, however, was pretty average, but I’m sure many would love this place. The prices were reasonable but the food could just be a little warmer. Cold bread. Bland sauce in my pasta. Decent desserts. Noise level was overwhelmingly loud. The service was okay. The server was long winded with the million specials and somewhat distant after that — had to wait for water refills, multiple requests for bread. Overall, cool vibe, mediocre food! Probably wouldn’t go back unless it was just for drinks.

When I called in to make a reservation for 2 at noon, I was put on hold for 5 minutes because they said they are busy at the moment. I decided to hang up because it was taking unnecessary time to make a reservation and try the call later when they are not as «busy.» When they finally put my name down and my fellow dining partner went in before me, there was no one greeting at the entrance. This service experience is just horrible as a first timer checking out this restaurant.
Wine selections are nice and this is a decent spot to dine at, but it just doesn’t make up for the lack of service. There’s plenty of restaurants to go around in the FiDi.
We ordered up their bruschetta with the 3 choice toppings of Broccoli rabe, Tuscan chicken liver pâté and Caponata. I liked the chicken liver pâté the most because it was savory. The Caponata with chopped eggplants in vinaigrette was a nice touch as well. Their bread was very crunchy.
I ordered up the Paccheri, lamb ragu. The pasta was a bit undercooked, the lamb shoulder was nicely braised and a homely entrée, nonetheless. As for the Peposo, the beef needed more tenderizing and polenta needed more texture. Our waitress didn’t seem too enthused on waiting.
The service here is just uncalled for. The whole time I was thinking that I should have dined somewhere else — treated us with better service, per say and welcomes our business. Luckily, a different hostess thanked us when we were ready to head out the doors. That saved a star rating.

Solid experience. It was easy to make a reservation. The dishes I got to try are: orecchiette, carbonara rigatoni, fruit salad, bruschetta with burrata & prosciutto and lasagna. Each dish was flavorful with decent portion.
My favorite was the bruschetta and the orecchiette. Carbonara had this weird plastic taste towards the end and my friend didn’t end up finishing it. The burrata on bruschetta was very delightful as well.
Seemed like they really push you to get drinks (they call it their specialty, we call it biggest profit margin) so maybe next time!

A little cute restaurant in Fidi next to Tadich Grill and Perbacco! I love the décor and atmosphere. The chairs were comfy but getting onto the seats was a bit awkward. We kept bumping in the tables next to us so it is a bit cramped in the restaurant.
(/)Bruschetta — burrata cheese /​arugula /​prosciutto. The burrata cheese was way too gooey and soft for my taste. I live burrata cheese that are more «stringy» and chewy. It was a good dish to try but I think I’ll skip it and try something else next time as a appetizer.
(+) lasagna bolognese — spinach pasta /​ragu bolognese/​besciamella sauce. I personally loved the lasagna. After seeing so many pictures and positive reviews about this dish, I decided to go with it. The serving seemed a bit small at first but it was actually pretty filling. Perfect sauce and the spinach lasagna was a nice touch. It wasn’t too heavy as a I expected.
(+) orecchiette — «little ears» /​cavolo nero/​fennel sausage /​pecorino cheese. I actually really enjoyed this dish too. I only tried a little of it from my friend but I’ll definitely be getting this one if I come back here. I loved the fennel sausage on top. It was salty and added a nice flavor to the overall creamy dish.
(-) rigatoni alla carbonara –pasta tubes/​guanciale pecorino romano /​egg /​black pepper. I’m usually not that picky of a eater when it comes to pasta but I didn’t enjoy this dish at all. The pasta tubes itself had a rubbery/​plastic taste to it. I couldn’t get myself to eat more than 2 – 3 tubes. Meh. Do not recommend.
(+/​) chocolate nemesis cake — strawberries/​fudge/​toffee crumble/​vanilla crema. I seriously don’t know how I would able to finish this dessert plate by myself. We shared this between 4 people and we were so full! The chocolate cake tastes like the inside of a truffle. Super rich and creamy but it is also really heavy. I love the toffee crumble on top. The vanilla crema is also really light to balance out how heavy the chocolate is.
Overall, pretty decent experience. We were a bit disappointed that the drinks menu were only wine and didn’t have any cocktails but it makes sense. The staff were pretty quick. I do recommend making a reservation ahead of time. We came around 5:30 and the whole restaurant was full by 6pm!

I love the ambiance here. Great service and great food! The portions are a bit small but you’re paying for the quality. Ingredients are fresh!
First ordered the seared squid appetizer (tomato/​orange/​chili). The squid had a nice kick to it. This was super flavorful! Got the orecchiette pasta — «little ears» — (fennel sausage/​pecorino cheese). This was a pesto based pasta and they did not skimp on the fennel sausage. I thought this dish was also good, but just a tad bit too salty. Lastly, had the braised ox tail (red wine/​celery/​onion/​garlic/​chili). Again, a ton of flavor. The ox tail was soo moist and tender. The meat just fell off the bone.
A delicious meal! I would come back!

Two words come to mind when recalling the dinning experience here: decent and average. Regrettably, I can’t use those adjectives to describe my dining companion.
They have non alcoholic local ginger beer here which is fine. It’s not as good as Maine Root Ginger brew. The buratta salad consisted of two slightly burnt pieces of bread topped with buratta and five pieces of arugula. Thanks for helping with my diet plan. The olive side had mostly really small olives drenched in oil.
Your life will not suffer if you don’t spend time here. Regrettably, I can also say that about my dining companion.